Discussion for raising entry level pay for new hires
MOHAVE COUNTY – A couple of hours of meandering discussion led to Monday’s final adoption of a $519-million budget for the new fiscal year. Unanticipated eye-popping construction cost increases for a pair of priority capital projects are funded in the new spending plan.
Financial Services Director Coral Loyd said rapid inflation in the construction materials market dramatically increased cost projections that were part of the tentative budget approved last month.
“The animal shelter costs are expected to increase from about $2.5-million to $3.5-million and the court remodel from $5-million up to about $8.5-million,” Loyd said.
Loyd said the difference would be covered by transfers from the landfill, motor pool, ERACE and general fund balance. County Manager Sam Elters said another budget adjustment is a $1-million reduction in this year’s public safety retirement fund commitment.
Staff proposed a primary property tax rate of $1.90 per $100 assessed valuation. The board instead approved a rate of $1.824, which is essentially the current rate of $1.783, plus the 2% adjustment mechanism.
Sheriff Doug Schuster thanked the board for their support in increasing his budget this year by $1.57 million. Elters said Schuster’s request for a larger increase has merit, but is difficult to accommodate given need across the organization.
“We have many other departments that are experiencing the same challenges with pay and retention and recruitment,” Elters said. “I think we have to pause at some point after this budget adoption, take a deep breath, come back to the board and have some heart-to-heart discussion about where we want to go from here.”
Supervisors Hildy Angius and Travis Lingenfelter said the sheriff’s office remains high on the priority list going forward. Both expressed support for consideration of seeking voter approval of a jail district funding mechanism to increase the funding pie for the department.
“The people that I represent want public safety and I have to think sales tax reflects the reality on the ground here in Mohave County,” Lingenfelter said. “I think that if you marry those two it’s going to go a big way toward a solution.”
Schuster said he favored using sales tax rather than property tax for revenue generation, though Board Chairman Buster Johnson expressed reservation because the former involves risk in cyclical economies. He said his low pay crisis is most severe with entry level detention officers that earn a little more than $16 per hour.
Johnson said the county needs to pay at least $20 per hour for all positions, noting that marijuana dispensary workers in Lake Havasu City are earning $30 an hour. Presiding Superior Court Judge Steve Moss said entry level clerks are hired at $14.52 while people earn more flipping burgers with less stress.
“We can’t compete with fast food,” Moss said.
Elters said the county is nearing a crisis in maintaining services when dozens of positions are vacant, with many drawing little interest. County Attorney Matt Smith said that’s been his experience with three advertised attorney positions.
“We have no applications, not even one,” Smith exclaimed. “It’s an ongoing issue.”
Supervisors said consideration of consolidation and other reforms involving the five county Constables could bring savings in future budgets. The idea is to have sheriff’s department personnel handle some of the constable duties in the future.
Dave Hawkins
